4 things to know about Kenosha County's state-bound teams

Three Kenosha County teams had a chance to win a sectional final Saturday night and advance to the state tournament.

All three teams got the job done.

Shoreland Lutheran boys soccer along with the Indian Trail and Westosha Central boys volleyball teams extended their seasons with clutch, and the Pacers, Hawks and Falcons will open state tournament play Thursday.

Here are five things you need to know about these state-bound teams.

Shoreland Lutheran sets shutouts record

The Shoreland Lutheran boys soccer (18-2-1) is back at state thanks to Saturday's 1-0 sectional final victory over Oostburg. It keeps hope alive that the Pacers can repeat as Division 4 state champions.

"We're incredibly proud of the way the boys handled this game," Shoreland Lutheran coach Dan Hahm said.

Gavin Moore, the team's leading scorer, buried a penalty kick in the 66th minute for his 31st goal of the season, which is seventh in the state per WisSports.

It was also the 10th straight clean sheet and a program record 14th shutout this season. Goalie Connor Hahm had three saves, and was aided by a unit which includes Joey Lindemann, Nolan Voye, Noah Carter and Nathan Trabbold. They have been exceptional all year, allowing only 14 goals and a school record 0.67 goals-against average.

"Connor Hahm was rock-solid in goal, especially impressive given that he's been nursing a foot injury that kept him from taking free kicks in the second half Thursday versus Prairie and was nearly pulled from the game," Dan said. "His free kicks are a big part of our strategy to press forward."

The Pacers will play either at 11 a.m. or 1:30 p.m. Thursday depending on which seed they get in a semifinal. The championship game is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday at Uihlein Soccer Park in Milwaukee.

Westosha Central earns third trip in five years

Westosha Central boys volleyball punched its state ticket for the third time in five seasons with a sweep of rival Burlington.

The Falcons, as they did in two regular season matches, dominated the Demons 25-19, 25-21, 25-17 to improve to a remarkable 27-1. Westosha Central's lone loss was to Homestead, which lost in its sectional final Saturday to Germantown.

The Falcons are led by 6-foot-4 outside hitter Austin Rynberg, 6-8 middle Liam Lubkeman and setter Graham Forester. They will play a state quarterfinal at either 4 p.m. or 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Resch Center in Green Bay. Semifinals are at 2 p.m. Thursday at the state championships is 7:30 p.m. Friday.

A head-to-head classic predicts future

If anyone ever questions how legit Central or Indian Trail are, all they have to do is look back at their Sept. 28 match.

It was a tournament at Indian Trail, and the Hawks lost to Central, 23-25, 32-34, in a thrilling match where neither team would give in and kept making play after play.

"We were in the championship against Westosha, and it was a knock-down, drag-out fight," Indian Trail coach Brian Sharkey said. "It had all the makings of a conference championship or a match to go to state. It was awesome. It was so fun. Nobody errored, we both hit well. We were just juggernauts that night, and it could've gone anybody's way."

And now, both teams are headed to state. Indian Trail beat Oak Creek 25-17, 25-16, 25-19 to win the sectional championship at South Milwaukee on Saturday to earn its first trip to state since 2021.

Sharkey said the scheduling helped Indian Trail (19-16) prepare for a tournament run. He said 13 of their losses were to teams in the top 15 of the state rankings.

"Nobody thought we'd be able to go 9-0 in sets and sweep the sectionals," Sharkey said. "Our coaching staff thought we'd drop a few sets. For us to go through and take care of business, that just says a lot."

KUSD feeder program paying off

Started in the spring of 2021, the Kenosha Unified School District brought boys volleyball to its middle schools, with all sixth- through eighth-graders combined into one program.

With 44 kids this year, in the second season, Sharkey sees the future is bright for Kenosha County boys volleyball, and it's been a huge advantage for area teams.

"We enjoy being a marquee program in the area, and we just get good kids buying into our culture," Sharkey said. "A lot of them play year-round. The coaches want to be around them."

Players train under the unified middle school team on Mondays and Wednesdays before playing as teams on Thursdays. Sharkey said they try to keep Mahone and Lance kids together against Washington and Bullen kids.

"The talent in the state is so Milwaukee-centric. There's so many more kids playing in those areas. The middle school volleyball has already proven very beneficial to our program," Sharkey said. "I had eight of those middle school players show up at Indian Trail as freshmen knowing how to play volleyball. Now that we have it, it should help us."

Photos: Kenosha St. Joseph's shuts out Cambria-Friesland in football playoffs second round